WEST DERBY HUNDRED 



WIGAN 



east sides, falling rapidly from west to east and allow- 

 ing the introduction of the vestry under the east end. 

 The building consists of chancel 32ft. 6 in. by 

 22 ft. 6 in., nave 80 ft. by 22 ft. 3 in., with north and 

 south aisles 1 1 ft. wide, and west tower 14 ft. by i6ft., 

 all these measurements being internal. With the 

 exception of the chancel and the tower the building 

 is of 14th-century date, the original structure having 

 been planned as a T-shaped church with large 

 central western tower and transepts, the present nave 

 forming the chancel. Whether this plan was ever 

 carried out is extremely doubtful, and only excavation 

 on the west end could determine the extent of the 

 original building, if it were ever greater than at pre- 

 sent. It is probable, however, that the building 

 came to a standstill somewhere about the middle of the 

 1 4th century, perhaps during the Great Pestilence, 

 and that in this unfinished state it remained till late 

 in the I5th century, when the present west tower was 

 added in the rather clumsy manner now apparent. 

 In this form the church continued till late in the last 

 century, the sanctuary being formed in the easternmost 

 bay, inclosed on the north and south by low walls, 

 the evidence for which may still be seen in the 

 arcades ; but in 1882 (when a drastic restoration was 

 commenced), a new chancel was begun to the east, 

 and the building was brought to its present condition. 



It may be assumed that the original chapel founded 

 here in 1307 was a small building, and that it stood 

 for some years after the foundation of the priory 

 twelve years later. There is no record, indeed, of 

 the erection of a church by the convent, but probably 

 a larger and more important building would be 

 thought necessary, and the present structure begun 

 towards the middle of the first half of the I4th 

 century. The conditions of the site, which rises 

 steeply at the west end, preclude the idea that the 

 building was ever intended to extend much further 

 in that direction, and the evidence of the masonry at 

 the west end of the nave and aisles makes a transeptal 

 T-shaped plan the only likely one. 



The walls are constructed of rough sandstone, 

 finishing with a plain parapet, and the nave and aisles 

 are roofed in one rather low span, which detracts 

 somewhat from the external dignity of the building. 

 This roof, which is covered with stone slates, is 

 however not the original one, the line of which may 

 still be seen on the exterior of the east face of the 

 tower. The old pitch is only slightly more acute 

 than the present one, and it may be assumed that the 

 original aspect was not very different from that which 

 now exists, the height of the aisle walls precluding 

 the idea of there having ever been a clearstory. 



There seems to have been a restoration in the 

 middle of the i8th century, the present roof dating 

 from 1752 according to a date roughly cut on it, 

 with the initials p T on one of the principals, and 

 T w on another. The tower also appears to have 

 been repaired at this time, and many of the bench-ends 

 put in during the previous century renewed. Galleries 

 were also inserted, and in 1799 a vestry was built on 

 the north side at the east end of the aisle, a door being 

 cut through the wall in the north-east angle of the 

 aisle. The galleries, which were on the north, 

 south, and west sides, projected in front of the nave 

 piers, which were much damaged in being cut away 

 to receive them. The interior remained in this state, 

 with square pews and no chancel, down to the 



time of the restoration of 1882-6. In this restora- 

 tion, in addition to the erection of the new chancel, 

 the tracery of all the old windows which had not 

 been already restored was renewed. A plan of the 

 church with the seating as it existed in 1850 now 

 hangs in the vestry. 



The chancel is built in 14th-century style, and is 

 lit by a large five-light traceried window at the east 

 and two windows on the north and on the south. 

 On the north side a stone circular staircase leads 

 down to the vestry beneath, access to which is 

 gained on the outside by two doors at the east end. 

 To obtain room for the vestry the chancel is raised 

 four steps above the level of the nave, which makes 

 it dominate the interior rather aggressively. The 

 chancel arch is modern, of three moulded orders, 

 and takes the place of a very poor east window, 

 inserted in 1840, after a former 14th-century 

 window had been blown out. The older window 

 is shown in Buck's drawing of 1727. 



The nave is of four bays with north and south 

 arcades of pointed arches springing from piers, and 

 responds composed of four rounded shafts with 

 hollows between, with moulded capitals and bases. 

 The arches are of two orders with the characteristic 

 1 4th-century wave-moulding. There is no clearstory, 

 and the nave roof is ceiled with a flat plaster 

 ceiling at the level of the crown of the arches, the 

 aisles having plaster ceilings following the line of the 

 roof. The 18th-century king-post roof above is of 

 a very plain description, and not intended to be 

 exposed. At the west end of the aisles are pointed 

 arches springing from responds composed of three 

 shafts, the moulded capitals of which range with those 

 of the nave piers, and were designed to open to the 

 transepts on each side of the tower. The arches are 

 now filled in with modern windows, apparently 

 reproducing early 1 6th-century work. The responds, 

 both to nave and aisles, form on each side of the tower 

 part of the great eastern piers of the crossing, the 

 lofty clustered shafts of which, faeing west, are now 

 partly exposed on the outside of the building in the 

 internal angles of the tower and aisle walls, and 

 partly hidden by the later masonry. 



The north aisle has four three-light pointed win- 

 dows on its north side with net tracery, all modern 

 copies of the original 14th-century work, and one 

 similar window at the east end ; the later window, 

 already mentioned, on the west end is of four lights 

 with poor tracery, and all the windows have external 

 labels. The south aisle is similarly lighted except in 

 the west bay, where there is a deeply-splayed window 

 placed high in the wall. Originally the wall of this 

 bay appears to have been pierced for an opening about 

 1 2 ft. wide which gave access to the western range of 

 the priory buildings, which abutted here. The 

 straight joints in the masonry on the outside wall 

 show distinctly the extent of the former opening, and 

 the present window must be a late insertion after the 

 opening had been built up. At the east end of the 

 south aisle is a good double 14th-century piscina, in 

 the usual position, with trefoiled head, and on the 

 corresponding side of the north aisle a square hole 

 in the wall, probably an aumbry. Under the 

 windows at a height of 6 ft. there is a moulded 

 string, which is cut away for some distance on each 

 wall on the west end. Below the string the walls 

 have been cemented, but above it are of rough 



95 



